Washington, April 13, (dpa/GNA) – US President Donald Trump, has threatened to target small boats operated by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards if they approach a new US naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military would act in the same way as in operations against drug smugglers in the Pacific and Caribbean, Trump said on his Truth Social platform on Monday.
So far, the United States had not taken action against the vessels, described by Trump as “fast attack ships” , because they were not considered much of a threat.
Trump said much of Iran’s navy had already been destroyed in the conflict and was “lying at the bottom of the sea.”
However, the Revolutionary Guards are believed to retain a large fleet of small, fast boats stationed at concealed coastal bases.
Since last year, the US Southern Command has repeatedly sunk boats suspected of drug smuggling in the Pacific and Caribbean, killing well over 100 people.
Critics have questioned whether such deadly operations in international waters comply with international law.
Blockade targets Iranian-linked shipping
The US Central Command, which oversees operations in the Middle East, said it would begin restricting certain vessels from passing through the strategic waterway from 1400 GMT on Monday.
The measures apply to ships with an Iranian port as their point of departure or destination in the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Trump said the blockade is intended to prevent Iran from charging shipping companies transit fees through the strait and to cut off the country’s oil revenues.
Trump hopes the economic pressure will force Tehran to restore access through the waterway to pre-war conditions.
On Sunday, Trump wrote on Truth Social that any person who attacked the US vessels enforcing the blockade would be “BLOWN TO HELL!”
GNA